When will I get my first water bill? And how will that work, since we had no potable water for six weeks? When will lead tests go out? Raw water test results MIA? • Asheville Watchdog
Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies, and the real answers:
Question: Can you let us know when the city of Asheville will begin to charge us for water?
My answer: Leaded or unleaded? Too soon?
Real answer: I’ve had several readers ask about this, and happily, Asheville Water Resources Department spokesperson Clay Chandler addressed this in detail at the Dec. 2 daily Helene briefing, and in a followup email.
First, Chandler noted that Water Resources paused all billing at the onset of Tropical Storm Helene, which struck Sept. 27, and did not resume until the city returned to providing potable water Nov. 18, when it lifted its boil water notice.
“As we return to regular service operations, billing will be resumed,” Chandler said. “Meter reading began the same week potable water was restored. I think our meter shop actually started to get out into the field on Nov. 20 — so a couple of days after the notice was lifted.”
Chandler said Thursday the first full batch of bills went out Dec. 2, “so they should start hitting mailboxes, if they haven’t already.”
At the briefing he noted a couple of key takeaways for customers to be aware of regarding bills.
As new billing statements go out, they’ll include service fees “for water, sewer, storm water and sanitation services, as applicable to each customer,” Chandler said.
“Utility flat fee charges are primarily billed bimonthly for a total of six times per year,” Chandler explained. “The water consumption charge for water usage on all bills has been changed to $0. This covers all water usage from your last bill before the storm through your meter reading for the current bill.”
That covers the full period when customers did not have potable water.
“Sewer treatment will be charged at the regular rate, as the Metropolitan Sewer District has remained operational and is treating wastewater on a normal schedule,” Chandler said.
Look for the overall bill to be higher than what you’re used to.
“Due to the lapse in billing during storm recovery, customers have missed one full bimonthly billing cycle,” Chandler said. “Because of this, the flat fees for services will be doubled on your most recent bill. Those fees are designed for assessment, six times per year for each of the services. And again, that’s water, sewer, storm water and sanitation.”
“What it does not include, again, is a water consumption charge for the billing period impacted by Hurricane Helene, from the end of September through mid-November,” he continued.
MSD General Manager Tom Hartye said this week via email that the district is aware that some customers have concerns about receiving high sewer bills for their most recent water and sewer utility invoice.
“The City of Asheville chose to delay billing during the aftermath of Tropical Storm Helene,” Hartye said, noting that current bills have an increased number of days in the billing cycle. “Some bills have up to 80 percent more days, as compared to the normal 60-day billing cycle.”
Hartye also noted that MSD operated throughout the storm.
“When non-potable water was delivered to the Asheville customers, the meters began to record the usage,” Hartye said. “While most of this water likely went down the sewer, we understand that some may have aggressively flushed outdoors to aid in the cleaning of the Asheville system.”
If you believe your billed water usage is abnormally high as a result of extensive flushing outside, contact Ben Colburn, MSD’s billing and collection coordinator, at 828-225-8209.
“MSD will offer a one-time credit for any usage over a 12-month bimonthly average,” Hartye said.
Chandler said Water Resources “will not assess any delinquent fees for utility statements until after March 1 next year.”
If you have billing questions or you need additional time to pay, contact the Water Resources Customer Service line at 828-251-1122.
“Payment plans, as always, will be made available to customers who request them, and the regular rates will resume, beginning with the next billing cycle,” Chandler said.
In the days following Tropical Storm Helene, workers repaired a 36-inch pipe at the North Fork Reservoir. Asheville water customers did not have potable water for 52 days following the storm. // Photo provided by City of Asheville
Question: I was wondering if you could maybe track down an answer to a question about water bills during the period without potable water. Water Resources spokesperson Clay Chandler in his updates seemed to suggest that there would be no water bills issued until full service was restored, so not to worry about consumption, all the “flushing” of lines, etc. However, I own an office space in a condominium where water use is charged on a prorated basis. Our association management has reached out to the city and was told that, yes, there is no billing happening now, but then once service is restored they will calculate the difference between the reading upon restoration and the last pre-Helene reading and issue a bill for water usage, and that it could be a very large bill. These two seem contradictory, to say the least. Could you investigate?
My answer: If by “investigate” you mean, “Ask Chandler about this,” then yes, by all means.
Real answer: Chandler said the entire bill cycle will be at a “zero rate for consumption.” The city has to read all the meters in the system, so that’s going to take some time.
“We won’t know in most cases what a customer’s meter was reading on Nov. 18,” Chandler said, referring to the date when potable water was restored. “Because of that, there will be no charge from the last reading until the current one. The ending read date will vary. We realize this will make some customers have a longer ‘free’ period than others, but that’s unavoidable.”
The city is working on installing new “Advanced Metering Infrastructure,” and that system, which includes automated readings, would have made all of this much simpler, Chandler said.
“That project, which is about 30 percent complete, will resume in January and is scheduled for substantial completion in 2026,” he added.
Question: I haven’t been able to find out when the lead kits that one can order from the city of Asheville Water Resources will be distributed. And, will they be sent by mail or require pickup at an office? I have submitted the same question to the city but would be most appreciative if you are able to find that information and distribute it through your posts.
My answer: It’s hard to say no when someone is this polite.
Real answer: “Lead kits will be distributed by Water Resources personnel or other city staff,” Chandler said. “Please note, due to the volume of requests, it could take a few weeks to get test kits distributed after the request is made. We’re working on ways to speed up that process and will share details once those plans have been finalized.”
As of last week, the city had received more than 5,000 requests for the kits. In mid-November, Water Resources announced that lead had been found in seven schools after the city had suspended its lead mitigation program for 19 days because of the storm damage. The mitigation program resumed Oct. 30, and the city says the water is safe to drink.
However, two outside chemistry experts recently told AshevilleWatchdog that they would recommend people living in houses built in or before 1988, when lead was banned in plumbing, get their water tested for lead before consuming it.
Question: Why hasn’t raw water sampling data been posted for over a week? It’s still interesting to some of us.
My answer: We probably all need some new hobbies these days.
Real answer: “Raw water analysis, now that the boil water notice has been lifted, is done weekly, instead of daily,” Chandler said.
Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Got a question? Send it to John Boyle at jboyle@avlwatchdog.org or 828-337-0941. His Answer Man columns appear each Tuesday and Friday. The Watchdog’s reporting is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-05-01 08:16:00
(The Center Square) – Taxpayers in North Carolina will face an average tax increase of $2,382 if the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expires at the end of the year, says the National Taxpayers Union Foundation.
Results of analysis were released Thursday morning by the nonprofit organization billing itself a “nonpartisan research and educational affiliate of the National Taxpayers Union.” Its four state neighbors were similar, with South Carolina lower ($2,319) and higher averages in Virginia ($2,787), Georgia ($2,680) and Tennessee ($2,660).
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of eight years ago was a significant update to individual and business taxes in the federal tax code. According to the Tax Foundation, it was considered pro-growth reform with an estimate to reduce federal revenue by $1.47 trillion over a decade.
Should no action be taken before Jan. 1 and the act expire, the federal standard deduction would be halved; the federal child tax credit would decrease; higher federal tax brackets would return; the federal estate tax threshold will be lower; and some business tax benefits will be gone.
The foundation, in summarizing the impact on North Carolina business expensing, says the state conforms to Section 168(k). This means “only 60% expensing for business investments this year and less in future years. State policymakers could adopt 100% full expensing, particularly since the state conforms to the Section 163(j) limit on interest expense and the two provisions were meant to work together.”
The foundation says business net operation loss treatment policies in the state “are less generous than the federal government and impose compliance costs due to lack of synchronization with the federal code and are uncompetitive with most other states.”
The National Taxpayers Union Foundation also says lawmakers “should at least be conscious of any retroactive provisions when selecting their date of fixed conformity.” North Carolina is among 21 states conforming to the federal income tax base “only as of a certain date” rather than automatically matching federal tax code changes – meaning definitions, calculations or rules.
The foundation said nationally the average filer will see taxes raised $2,955. It estimates an increase for 62% of Americans. The biggest average increases by state are in Massachusetts ($4,848), Washington ($4,567) and Wyoming ($4,493) and the lowest are in West Virginia ($1,423), Mississippi ($1,570) and Kentucky ($1,715).
Individual wages, nationally, are expected to go down 0.5%, reducing economic growth by 1.1% over 10 years.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Right
The content primarily reports on the potential impact of the expiration of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, relying heavily on analysis from the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, which describes itself as a nonpartisan organization but is known to advocate for lower taxes and limited government intervention, positions typically aligned with center-right economic policies. The article uses neutral language in presenting facts and data and does not explicitly advocate for a particular political viewpoint; however, the emphasis on tax increases and business expensing challenges following the expiration suggests a subtle alignment with pro-tax-cut, business-friendly perspectives associated with center-right ideology. Thus, while the article largely reports rather than overtly promotes an ideological stance, the framing and source choice reflect a center-right leaning.
www.thecentersquare.com – By David Beasley | The Center Square contributor – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-30 21:25:00
(The Center Square) – Authorization of sports agents to sign North Carolina’s collegiate athletes for “name, image, and likeness” contracts used in product endorsements is in legislation approved Wednesday by a committee of the state Senate.
Authorize NIL Agency Contracts, known also as Senate Bill 229, is headed to the Rules Committee after gaining favor in the Judiciary Committee. It would likely next get a full floor vote.
Last year the NCAA approved NIL contracts for players.
Sen. Amy S. Galey, R-Alamance
NCLeg.gov
“Athletes can benefit from NIL by endorsing products, signing sponsorship deals, engaging in commercial opportunities and monetizing their social media presence, among other avenues,” the NCAA says on its website. “The NCAA fully supports these opportunities for student-athletes across all three divisions.”
SB229 spells out the information that the agent’s contract with the athlete must include, and requires a warning to the athlete that they could lose their eligibility if they do not notify the school’s athletic director within 72 hours of signing the contract.
“Consult with your institution of higher education prior to entering into any NIL contract,” the says the warning that would be required by the legislation. “Entering into an NIL contract that conflicts with state law or your institution’s policies may have negative consequences such as loss of athletic eligibility. You may cancel this NIL agency contract with 14 days after signing it.”
The legislation also exempts the NIL contracts from being disclosed under the state’s Open Records Act when public universities review them. The state’s two ACC members from the UNC System, Carolina and N.C. State, requested the exemption.
“They are concerned about disclosure of the student-athlete contracts when private universities don’t have to disclose the student-athlete contracts,” Sen. Amy Galey, R-Alamance, told the committee. “I feel very strongly that a state university should not be put at a disadvantage at recruitment or in program management because they have disclosure requirements through state law.”
Duke and Wake Forest are the other ACC members, each a private institution.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
The article primarily reports on the legislative development regarding NIL (name, image, and likeness) contracts for collegiate athletes in North Carolina. It presents facts about the bill, committee actions, and includes statements from a state senator without using loaded or emotionally charged language. The piece neutrally covers the issue by explaining both the bill’s purpose and the concerns it addresses, such as eligibility warnings and disclosure exemptions. Overall, the article maintains a factual and informative tone without advocating for or against the legislation, reflecting a centrist, unbiased approach.
SUMMARY: Donald van der Vaart, a former North Carolina environmental secretary and climate skeptic, has been appointed to the North Carolina Utilities Commission by Republican Treasurer Brad Briner. Van der Vaart, who previously supported offshore drilling and fracking, would oversee the state’s transition to renewable energy while regulating utility services. His appointment, which requires approval from the state House and Senate, has drawn opposition from environmental groups. Critics argue that his views contradict clean energy progress. The appointment follows a controversial bill passed by the legislature, granting the treasurer appointment power to the commission.
